


end meets beginning

by funny_little_frog



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Complete, Happy, M/M, Marauders, Modern Marauders (Harry Potter), POV Sirius Black, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:46:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29491527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funny_little_frog/pseuds/funny_little_frog
Summary: ending of chapter 1 entirely inspired by siriuslysarcasticremus on tumblr!modern non-magic AUSirius, James and Peter play their final prank before Uni finishes for summer. Running from McGonagall, Sirius finds himself in the middle of a meeting, hosted by the most attractive instructor he has ever seen before in his life.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 17
Kudos: 155





	1. Chapter 1

“For god’s sake, James, just pick a seat!” Sirius grouched good-naturedly as James led the way down the narrow aisle of the train to uni, Peter trailing behind them as usual. The summer heat made the air heavy, and it settled over them all like a stuffy blanket on the already musty train as dust motes swirled languidly in the air, glowing orange in the lazy rays of sun striping across the train carriage.

“All, right, all right, Padfoot, keep your hair on,” James laughed as the train lurched into motion, sending Peter stumbling into Sirius. “Come on, let’s sit here.” He led them into a space of four seats facing each other, one seat already occupied by a stranger with his head buried in a book. Something with Achilles in the title, Sirius discovered after a surreptitious glance. He claimed the seat opposite the stranger, James collapsing dramatically next to him, leaving Peter to sit beside the man with a grumpy frown. 

“Okay, so,” Sirius began, leaning closer to James, “plan of action. Prank of the year. Come on, then, let’s go over the plan. Everything has to go flawlessly; it’s our last chance!”

“Gotta go out with a bang,” James agreed, nodding. It was the day of their last uni exam before Summer, and they were determined to ensure that their troublemaking legacy did not go forgotten. 

Peter leaned in eagerly, determined to be included in the conversation, his watery eyes widening in anticipation. 

“Right, Wormtail,” James continued, fiddling with the electrical wires attached to a small video recorder. “You remember your bit?”

Peter nodded energetically, slipping a screwdriver out of his pocket and showing it to the other two proudly. 

“And I’m set to go too,” Sirius added with a wicked grin, pulling out a large handful of bronze penny coins and a small tube of superglue. 

It was still early; only 6AM. They had plenty of time to get prepared for their greatest prank yet. Just like they had planned. 

***

Sirius’ final exam went by in a rush of anticipation; the atmosphere in the entire hall was taut with a tangible aura of excitement. Freedom and Summer were so close, it was almost palpable. He kept glancing over to James, who was lazily twirling his pen in his hands and grinning softly to himself, his exam paper closed and signed off in front of him. His green eyes were glowing in clear anticipation of the prank. Peter, a few rows behind James, had his brows furrowed in concentration and a black smudge on his lip from where he had accidentally bitten the nib of his pen, his knee bouncing with nerves. 

Sirius glanced at the huge clock at the front of the large exam hall. The seconds ticked down, excruciatingly slowly. 

Seven more minutes. 

Sirius felt his stomach flutter, and he looked down at his completed exam paper once more, the words blurring in front of his eyes. 

Six more minutes. 

Sirius took a deep breath. 

Five more minutes. It was time.

Raising his hand, he silently summoned over an invigilator, explaining in a hurried whisper how his stomach was feeling funny and he absolutely had to go to the bathroom immediately. Yes, he knew there were only five minutes left. Yes, it was okay if she took in his exam paper; he was finished, anyway.

Hurrying out into the hallway, Sirius made his way into the computer cluster next door and hastily logged on to one of the ancient, lagging computers, jittery with excitement. He pulled up the programme James had helped him write the previous week; putting their computer science degree to good use already, it seemed. 

With a swift, triumphant smile, Sirius ran the programme; right on time.

***

Sirius reentered the exam hall precisely six minutes after the exam had officially ended, giving the invigilators enough time to have collected in everybody’s papers. As usual, his and James’ calculations were correct; everyone was sitting anxiously in their seats with empty desks in front of them, on edge, clearly eager to finally leave the hall and begin their post-exam celebrations.

“Oh, Mr Black,” Professor McGonagall said from the front of the hall in a clipped tone, hurrying over to where he was hovering by the doorway. “It’s fine for you to leave, we already have your paper. No need to return to your seat.” She appraised him with a business-like expression over her silver spectacles. 

“Sure, Minnie,” Sirius said innocently, stretching. “I’ll just stand here, then. Wait for James and Peter to be let out.” He made sudden eye contact with James and flashed him a fleeting grin.

“Hmm,” tutted McGonagall impatiently. “All right, then.” She turned to address the students in the hall. “You may leave, now. Quietly,” she added sternly as the rush of students hurrying out of their seats began, impatient to finally be done with uni for the Summer.

Sirius smiled as their plan started to work.

A tall student with a haughty-looking expression and an upturned nose whose name Sirius didn’t know spotted the flash of a coin lying on the floor- he eagerly bent down to retrieve it, frowning when it didn’t budge. Looked like the superglue had worked, then, Sirius thought smugly. 

What the student clearly hadn’t noticed, however, was the dozens of other coins scattered around the room; all around him, other students were also trying to pick up the coins, none with any success due to Sirius’ superglue.

McGonagall, noticing that something funny was going on, frowned and tried to pick up one of the coins herself. 

This was where their plan really began.

While McGonagall’s gaze was firmly fixed on the floor, investigating the coin stubbornly refusing to budge there, Sirius nimbly leapt over the desks between them and pulled out a small white box from his pocket. 

“Professor McGonagall,” James asked kindly, walking up to her and sweeping his arms graciously to hide Sirius kneeling on the floor from her vision. “Would you like me to explain what I think has happened here?”

“Yes, I do!” she snapped crisply, her face red and her spectacles flashing. 

“You do?” said Sirius in mock surprise, his mouth open theatrically. James dramatically stepped aside to reveal Sirius down on one knee, an open box in his hands revealing a glittering, clearly expensive wedding ring.

“What- what is this?” McGonagall spluttered, her face turning as red as her tartan dress. 

“It’s official!” James gasped, covering his mouth with a hand as the other waved a cream sheet of paper he had somehow managed to slip into the exam hall. “I’m officially ordained as a minister; only took me a few minutes on the internet.” He winked at Peter, who was hovering nervously by the first row of desks among the crowd of grinning students, clearly afraid of getting in trouble. “All this needs is my signature…” He pulled off a pen lid he procured from his pocket and signed the paper with a flourish. 

“This is ridiculous!” McGonagall spluttered, looking disbelievingly from where Sirius was still kneeling on the floor and back to James with dizzying speed. “What… this isn’t official!” she finally burst out, grabbing the paper from James and skimming it hastily with raised eyebrows. 

“Oh, I can assure you, it absolutely is,” Sirius drawled with a smug smile. “And, not only do we have witnesses-” he flourished his hand lazily at the crowd of students watching the proceedings eagerly- “but this is not only being videoed live, and uploaded as we speak to the uni website, but is also being broadcast directly to all the uni projectors and computer screens.” He gestured to the small camera James had managed to assemble up in the corner of the hall, where it had gone unnoticed. Until now.

A vaguely impressed expression crossed McGonagall’s face. She had been their lecturer that year for their Information Security Coding module, and she appraised Sirius with a slight look of pride, her nostrils flaring delicately.

“And you-”

“Well, me and James,” Sirius added modestly, nodding towards where James was taking a little bow. “Wasn’t too hard. You taught us how, anyway.” He winked at her, ignoring her harrumph. “Just had to bypass the existing security system and upload this as an emergency message to be broadcast to all uni screens.”

“Yes, I guess, we only have you to thank, Professor McGonagall,” James added with a wicked grin, “or should I say, Professor Black?”

This was apparently too much for Minerva. 

With a muffled shriek, she chased Sirius and James out of the hall and down the corridor, strands of her grey hair falling out of her bun and her tartan dress billowing around her.

“I’ll teach you… last chance to discipline!” she puffed from somewhere behind them, clearly out of breath as she dodged the ring Sirius flung at her, laughing. 

“Guess you shouldn’t have rejected my proposals so many times, eh, Minnie?” he called out cheekily behind him, relishing in the shocked expressions of the students he passed on the corridor. He imagined what a sight he must look; racing with James down the corridor, Minerva McGonagall hot on their heels.

“Look, let’s split up,” James panted, pointing to where the corridor split into two and shoving Sirius down the left path. “Catch you later!” he called to him with a muffled whoop.

Sirius ran hard down the corridor, grinning with elation. It had worked; their plan had worked. 

Spotting a classroom on his left, he skidded to a halt and barged inside, his heartbeat and pounding drum in his ears. He slammed the door behind him and laughed giddily, turning around to see where he had ended up.

His laughter cut off abruptly in a choked cough.

“Are you here for the LGBTQIA meeting?” someone called out.

A small group of students sat in a circle in the centre of the room, a young professor standing in the middle with his eyebrows raised. He was dressed in cuffed corduroy trousers and a soft-looking sweater, his curly dark blonde hair glowing a dazzling gold in the light of the sun streaming from the windows. It was only when Sirius spotted the book he held that Sirius realised where he knew him from- he had been sat opposite him on the train just that morning.

Sirius’ clever retort died in his throat.

“Um… no, I… sorry, lost,” he choked out feebly, for some reason unable to take his eyes off the professor. He was smiling at him softly, his eyebrow still raised, and Sirius noted somewhere in the back of his non-functioning brain that this- well, fuck it. This was the most gorgeous man he had ever seen in his life.

“Oi, are you gay, or what?” a kid with a punk-rock hairstyle called from their place the circle. 

“Um, I-” Sirius looked back at the professor, who was still smiling softly at him- as though he were the only other person in the world. 

“Fuck, yes,” Sirius said, his voice hoarse. “I am now.”

The professor, whose name Sirius would later learn to be Remus, grinned.

And Sirius thought idly that it was more dazzling than the summer sun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really wasn't gonna make this any longer than the first chapter but it feels so sweet and happy i just couldn't help myself :P

It wasn’t often that Remus Lupin was struck completely dumb, but the moment a tall, cocky, dark-haired boy had gatecrashed his support group meeting, he had decided that this was undoubtedly one of those moments. 

It was the way the boy had grinned as he had rushed into the room like hell itself was chasing his heels; wild, unfettered and carefree...

...and so, so beautiful.

It was the way his inky black hair curled at the base of his neck and at his temples; the way his grey eyes had met Remus’ and held them with an intensity that made him feel like he was burning up in his very centre, making him feel molten and forged anew at once.

Well, fuck. If this wasn’t inconvenient.

The meeting had gone past in a flurry of concerns, cries of outrage, expressions of sympathy and above all, comfortable laughter; but for once, Remus was not really paying attention. The book they were supposed to be discussing lay forgotten on his chair and he could only muster enough concentration to mumble in agreement at the more vocal members of the group, glad that none of them seemed to notice that his attention was decidedly elsewhere.

Namely, on the handsome gatecrashing stranger.

He was sitting in an empty seat on the edge of the circle- Remus noticed with a stab of curiosity that he was fidgeting with a small, empty jewellery box, for some unfathomable reason.

After what felt like an eternity, the meeting finally ended; Remus busied himself with shoving his book in his bag and unnecessarily adjusting the shoulder strap, hoping that-

“Oh, hey, Remus?”

Remus spun around, only for his face to fall in disappointment.

“Oh, hi, Alex, good to see you at the meeting today!” He smiled at them kindly, hoping he didn’t come across as rude or impatient. Alex was one of the truly genuine ones, who usually stayed late to help him pack away chairs after the meetings; but how could they know that today, that was the last thing he wanted? 

“Just wondering if you needed a hand?”

“Nah, I’m all good, thanks,” Remus replied with a smile, catching sight of a tall, lone figure hovering in his peripheral vision by the windows, his back turned to him.

“Oh, sorry,” Alex said as their gaze flickered to the boy, a rush of understanding dawning across their features. “I guess I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“No, wait, that’s not what I-” 

But Alex had already shot Remus a smug, knowing smile over their shoulder as they walked out of the door, the thud of it shutting behind them sounding at once like a blessing and a curse.

Remus took a steadying breath.

“How come I haven't seen you around, then?” Remus asked in what he hoped came across as a casual tone.

The boy turned, and Remus’ breath caught in his throat. His grey eyes sparkled with an expression he could not name, and the boy smiled a devastating, ruining smile.

“Guess I’d’ve come to these meetings sooner if I’d known you were running them,” he said in a low voice, and Remus could not help it; he blushed. 

“Well, every Friday at 2pm,” Remus blurted, hoping to see this stranger again. “Oh, hey, what’s your name?”

“Sirius,” he said, smiling distractedly as though he didn’t even realise he was doing it. “Hey, need a hand?” he gestured to the plastic chairs still positioned in a tidy little circle in the centre of the room. “I take it I made you turn away that person who was gonna help you pack up.” His smile turned smug and he raised an eyebrow knowingly, and for some reason, his expression and sheer aura of swagger and confidence made Remus want to push back. Just a little.

“No,” Remus replied, mirroring Sirius’ expression with a raised eyebrow of his own. “Maybe I just fancied a bit of alone time. Clear my thoughts. You know.” He looked pointedly at Sirius, who, despite his swagger, looked slightly unsure of himself.

“Um, oh, okay. Sorry, I can…” Sirius trailed off feebly, watching as Remus’ expression morphed into one of amusement. 

“Kidding, Sirius.” The unfamiliar name in his mouth sent a thrill of adrenaline shooting through him. “I’d absolutely love a hand. Come on.”

They worked in silence for a moment, the only sounds the scuff of their shoes against the polished wooden floor and the clattering sound of chairs being stacked on top of each other in a tidy pile in the corner of the room. It was warm- the beginning of Summer- and the air was still and sweet with the faint scent of flowers from outside.

Finally, once there were no more chairs between them, Remus looked up to find Sirius standing in the centre of the room, watching Remus unguardedly with something akin to curiosity in his eyes.

“What?” Remus asked self-consciously, startled to find himself being observed so intently.

“Oh, uh, nothing,” Sirius replied softly, his gaze still fixed on Remus’ face. “Um.” He immediately dropped his gaze to the floor and coughed awkwardly, seeming to realise what he had been doing. “I guess I’ll be off, gotta go find my friends. Oh shit,” he added suddenly, his eyes widening, “they must be looking for me! See ya, Remus.” He turned abruptly, almost tripping in his haste to get away.

“Wait!” Remus called, and, without realising what he was doing, reached out to grip Sirius by the hand. He was just going to ask whether to lay out an extra chair for him next week, but the words died in his throat the second their fingers touched. Sirius’ hand was soft, and a spreading warmth seemed to flood through Remus’ fingers at the sudden contact. 

Sirius was standing motionless, his lips so still he barely looked to be breathing, his eyes fixed on Remus’ with an odd, wondrous sort of expression. 

In that moment, there were a great many things that Remus wanted to ask; what was in the box he had been holding earlier? Why did he make such an entrance when he first barged into the room, like he was being chased? _Was _he being chased? But, standing there, Remus couldn’t quite seem to find the words.__

__“You know, Remus” Sirius began, his voice hoarse, “I do really think that-”_ _

__But Remus never got to find out what Sirius thought._ _

__A sudden, explosive bang yanked them both out of their thoughts, and Remus looked up to see a boy with a mop of messy black hair and crooked glasses barging into the room wearing a gleeful, mischievous smile; making much the same entrance that Sirius had done earlier._ _

__“James!” Sirius said with apparent surprise, dropping Remus’ hand as though he had been burned._ _

__Remus forced down the hollow pang in his chest._ _

__“O Padfoot, light of my life, reason for my very existence, where the _hell _have you been?” the boy- James- cried dramatically, rushing to where Sirius was standing awkwardly near Remus, revealing a short, watery-eyed boy lurking in the doorway which James had just vacated. What the fuck was a padfoot? “My heart, wounded in your absence, is only just starting to beat again! Feel it’s stuttering rhythm; alas, it beats only for you.”___ _

____James grabbed Sirius’ hand with a flourish and pressed it theatrically to his chest above his heart, wearing such an over-the-top agonised expression that Remus snorted._ _ _ _

____“And who, pray tell, is this young gentleman?” James asked, pretending to remove a top-hat and bowing deeply in Remus’ direction._ _ _ _

____“Stop being a weirdo, Prongs,” Sirius said with an exasperated eye roll, though Remus caught the fond smile playing on his lips. Prongs? What was with these two and their weird nicknames? “I just came in here when I was running from Minnie, and Remus here was holding a meeting and I decided to stay.” Remus caught the faint blush on Sirius’ cheeks._ _ _ _

____“Yeah, he barged in here like the devil himself was chasing him, interrupting my meeting and all,” Remus added dryly._ _ _ _

____“What meeting?” James asked interestedly, straightening his crooked glasses._ _ _ _

____“Oh, I hold an LGBTQIA+ meeting here every Friday,” Remus said. “It’s so important for people to know they aren’t alone, you know?”_ _ _ _

____“Oh, cool!” James said enthusiastically, nodding his head in agreement. “Yeah definitely.”_ _ _ _

____Sirius smiled a soft, secret smile at Remus, and his heart all but leapt._ _ _ _

____“Hey James, would it be okay if we brought Remus to the end-of-exam party later today? I mean,” he added, flushing a deep red as he turned towards Remus, “if you’d like to come, of course?”_ _ _ _

____“Um, Pads, is it not a bit weird to bring a Professor as a plus one?” James pointed out._ _ _ _

____Remus snorted._ _ _ _

____“I’m not a Professor. I’m in my first year of my PhD. Jesus, how old do I look?” Remus raised his brow and turned to Sirius with a smile, who laughed._ _ _ _

____“You look our age, don’t worry,” James said hastily, “but, like, you look like you know a lot. Wise. You know?”_ _ _ _

____“Hm. Yeah,” Remus said slowly, smiling at Sirius._ _ _ _

____“You’ll come, then?” Sirius asked Remus softly. Just for him._ _ _ _

____“Yeah, I’ll come,” Remus replied just as quietly._ _ _ _

____And, hell, if the answering smile on Sirius’ face didn’t strike Remus dumb, more dazzling than the Summer sun streaming through the windows._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

“So,” James said suddenly, pointing a carrot stick menacingly at Remus, where they sat with Peter and Sirius around one of the rickety wooden tables in their small garden. “Come on, then. Give us the gossip. If you want to stick around tonight, we need to know the details of the mysterious Remus Lupin. You’ve barely said a word about yourself on the walk over here. Spill!”

Sirius leant forwards, feeling rather intrigued, despite himself. A faint blush crept down Remus’ neck as his eyes darted around the garden at the other few groups of people drinking and laughing in the buttery evening sun, as if he hoped that someone would save him from the dreaded horror of having to share _details _about himself.__

__“I dunno, I mean, there’s not really much to tell,” Remus mumbled incoherently, rubbing the back of his neck. “Um, I’m studying classics- focused on Greek- and I’m spending the whole of next year in Greece to do research for my PhD. I’m moving down there next week, actually.” His eyes found Sirius’ as he said this, a faintly apologetic tone creeping into his voice._ _

__Sirius swallowed down a bitter pang of disappointment, for some reason. Why should it matter to him? He had only met Remus a few short hours ago._ _

__“Whoa, that’s cool!” James said, crunching his carrot stick thoughtfully._ _

__“So can you, like, speak Greek?” Peter asked eagerly._ _

__“Oh, yeah, but not modern Greek- I speak Ancient Greek- and a bit of Latin too, I guess? I dunno, I mean, it’s not like they’re really useful in everyday life,” he added quickly, seeing the awed expressions of everyone around the table._ _

__“Yeah, but still, way cooler than what we do, mate,” James said earnestly, Peter nodding along with enthusiasm._ _

__“Comp sci nerds,” Sirius added proudly, pointing to himself, James and Peter._ _

__“Oh, wow,” Remus laughed softly, and something in the way he looked at Sirius made him feel hyper-aware of all the points of contact between the rough fabric of his shirt and his skin. He shivered lightly; and it had nothing to do with the summery evening breeze making the leaves around them rustle lazily, as if spilling their secrets._ _

__“Right, well, we’d better head off in about an hour,” James added, swigging from his beer. “Main party’s at Mary and Marlene’s, they said to get there around seven.”_ _

__“Wait, _this _isn’t the party?” Remus asked suddenly, looking unsure, his wide eyes darting suddenly to Sirius’.___ _

____“Nah, course not,” Sirius laughed. “This is just the pre-drinks. Wait ‘till you see the kinda party Mary throws, it’s out of this bloody world.” Peter nodded his head fervently._ _ _ _

____Noticing the mildly alarmed expression on Remus’ face, Sirius felt compelled to add, “honestly, though, it’s okay. It’ll be fun. I mean, if you don’t want to come, then-”_ _ _ _

____“No, no, I want to come,” Remus said quickly, and then blushed deeply as though afraid he had overstepped. Sirius could not help but follow with his eyes as the blush disappeared down the column of his pale throat and down his worn-looking green sweater (which he was wearing despite the warmth of the pleasant summer evening) and Sirius swallowed hard, his breath catching in his throat._ _ _ _

____“Oh, come on, Pete, there’s something I want to show you,” James said suddenly, watching what was going on between Remus and Sirius astutely._ _ _ _

____Peter frowned. “What? What do you want to show me?”_ _ _ _

____“Pete, I said come on..” James all but wrestled Peter away from the table, spilling most of his drink down himself and ignoring Peter’s muffled protests._ _ _ _

____“Um…” Sirius began awkwardly, not quite sure what to say now that he was sitting alone at a table with Remus Lupin in his own back garden, who was watching him with an unreadable expression in his vivid green eyes._ _ _ _

____“I do have a question for you, actually,” Remus began, so quietly that Sirius couldn’t be sure he had heard it._ _ _ _

____“Yeah, shoot,” Sirius said, feeling slightly unsure of himself._ _ _ _

____“What was in that box? You know, the little box you were holding when you interrupted my meeting?” The corner of Remus’ mouth twitched._ _ _ _

____“Oh, that!” Sirius laughed, leaning back in his seat and taking another sip of his drink. “Wow, how do I even begin to tell you about that.”_ _ _ _

____Sirius took a deep breath and launched into the story- beginning not that morning with the start of their legendary prank, but rather many, many years ago, with how he had met James and Peter in Primary School and how they had taken it upon themselves at their young age to spread as much trouble and mischief wherever they went. Remus had pulled up a knee and was resting his chin on it, listening intently, only interrupting to ask a question or to add a wry comment of his own. Sirius wove a story of mischievous youth and prank after prank, culminating in the marriage proposal from just that morning at which Remus’ eyes practically glowed when he tipped his head back and laughed._ _ _ _

____Sirius found with a pang of surprise that talking to Remus was comfortable; just as comfortable, in fact, as he felt when talking to James._ _ _ _

____“But, you’ve finished uni, now, haven’t you?” Remus asked curiously. “So, what’s your plan?”_ _ _ _

____“Oh, I dunno,” Sirius said with a sigh, tipping his head back and looking at the rich blue colour of the sky as the sun lowered itself down the horizon. “Pete’s got himself some fancy job at a finance company, he starts next month. Me and James, however- well, we always said that straight after uni we’d go on a gap year. Travelling, and stuff. We still wanna do that, but we haven’t really planned it out yet. I guess none of it even felt real until this morning, after our last exam.”_ _ _ _

____“That sounds nice,” Remus said gently, following Sirius’ gaze to the sky. “Blue hour,” he added quietly, a strange, wistful tone taking over his voice._ _ _ _

____“What?”_ _ _ _

____“That’s what it’s called, at this time of the day when the sun is just setting; it makes the sky so blue, it’s lovely.”_ _ _ _

____“Yeah,” breathed Sirius, but he wasn’t watching the sky. His eyes were fixed on the profile of Remus, knees pulled up to his chest and head tilted back as he gazed up at the sky with wonder. “Yeah, it is.”_ _ _ _

____Remus pulled his gaze from the sky to look at Sirius, and the sheer intensity of his gaze knocked Sirius’ breath from his lungs._ _ _ _

____He could not have looked away, not even if he had tried._ _ _ _

____“So, what about you?” Sirius asked finally, his voice hoarse. “Any dramatic adventures you get up to with your friends?”_ _ _ _

____Remus snorted. “Lily is the furthest person you’d expect to get up to anything like the pranks and stuff you lot did. Me and her go way back- oh, actually, remind me to introduce her to James. I really get the feeling that they’d get along.”_ _ _ _

____They lapsed into comfortable silence._ _ _ _

____“Come on, lads, best be off,” James said suddenly, appearing behind Sirius and clapping him on the shoulder, Peter trailing behind him as usual._ _ _ _

____“What?” Sirius asked, startled, his eyes flying to Remus._ _ _ _

____“Yeah, people are starting to head off to Mary and Marlene’s and we reckoned we’d join them. I mean, you can catch up with us later if you’d like?” James added, his expression uncertain as his gaze flew between Sirius and Remus._ _ _ _

____Sirius was just about to agree when Remus spoke, getting to his feet. “Nah, you’re all good, James, let’s go.” He eyed Sirius expectantly, who was rather strangely feeling as though he had just missed out on something._ _ _ _

____“Yeah, we’re ready,” Sirius added, disgruntled._ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

____Mary and Marlene had outdone themselves, as usual. Their house opened up into the back garden, the balmy summer night air swirling around with drunken laughter and excited chatter. Someone- most likely Marlene- had strung up fairy lights around the garden, giving it a certain surreal atmosphere like something out of a dream._ _ _ _

____“So glad you could make it,” Mary said cheerfully, kissing them all on the cheek in greeting. “Watch out for Marlene- she’s a few drinks ahead of everyone, it seems.” They all turned to watch Marlene, standing on a garden table and belting the lyrics to ABBA’s Dancing Queen at the top of her lungs._ _ _ _

____James winced. “Yeah, glad I’m not the one who’s gonna have to explain that to the neighbours.”_ _ _ _

____Mary laughed, looking towards Marlene with a fond expression and shaking her head. “Come on, then, guess we’ve all got some catching up to do. Drinks are on the table in the garden.” She waggled her eyebrows at Sirius as she led James and Peter out into the garden, looking at Remus knowingly, and Sirius blushed despite himself._ _ _ _

____“Hey, Remus, everything okay?” Sirius asked, catching sight of Remus’ mildly anxious expression._ _ _ _

____“Oh, yeah.” Remus nodded, wrinkling his nose and running a hand through his mop of dark blond curls. “I dunno, just never been one for parties, myself, I guess.”_ _ _ _

____“Oh,” Sirius said, feeling responsible for the situation. “I mean, we really don’t have to stay, we can-”_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____“No, no.” Remus smiled reassuringly at Sirius, taking his hand. “Come on.”_ _ _ _

____He led them out into the garden, and all Sirius could think of was the warmth of Remus’ fingers between his, and the faint scent of apples that clung to him._ _ _ _

____Remus led them slightly away from the commotion of people enjoying their newfound freedom, and they sat on the soft grass under a tree. Remus sat with his legs crossed, and the way his knee brushed lightly against Sirius’ leg was very distracting; he was suddenly immensely grateful for the darkening sky, which hopefully hid the rising blush on his cheeks._ _ _ _

____“So,” Remus began, looking at Sirius with a small smile. “You fancy me, huh?”_ _ _ _

____“What?” Sirius leg jerked against Remus’ in surprise, and he opened his mouth, suppressing a strange desire to deny Remus’ claims._ _ _ _

____After all… he wasn’t wrong._ _ _ _

____“No, it’s- I mean, I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page,” Remus clarified, his green eyes seeming to glow with the reflection of the fairy lights strung up on the branches above them._ _ _ _

____“Same page?” Sirius asked slowly. “You mean, you-”_ _ _ _

____“Do you really think I go to _parties _with just _anyone _?” Remus asked. He was so close now, Sirius could count the individual freckles on his nose. “We literally just met. Do you think I’d be here if my first thought when u barged into my classroom wasn’t ‘fuck it, this is the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen in my life?’”_____ _ _ _

________As if Sirius hadn’t thought the exact same thing when he first saw Remus._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“What- you think- you thought-”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Remus kissed him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________His lips were warm and tasted faintly of the sweet strawberry cider they had been drinking; and Sirius hadn’t been prepared for how bloody _soft _they were.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________His hands wound into Remus’ curls, and _god _if his hair wasn’t as soft as it looked.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________After far too short a time, Sirius felt Remus pull back; Sirius made a noise of protest low in his throat and clutched the collar of his sweatshirt as if he could physically stop him from moving away._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Remus furrowed his brow, his pupils blown. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask- is this okay? I mean-”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Sirius didn’t even let him finish, he yanked him none too gently by his collar, where he captured his small sound of surprise he made against his mouth._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“But what about your friends?” Remus murmured against his mouth. “I get the feeling they don’t know-”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Well, they bloody well will know now,” Sirius said with a smile. “And this is as good a coming out as any.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Indeed, Sirius broke away from Remus to look at where his friends were standing by the lights of the house; James immediately shot Sirius a conspiratorial grin with a thumbs up, and Mary was whooping in their direction with a smile to rival James’. Marlene, apparently, was too drunk to even care, and Peter simply looked confused._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Ugh, now they’re all looking at us.” Sirius frowned._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“I think they were looking at us before you noticed,” Remus pointed out with a laugh._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Ew. I’m glad they know, now, but do they have to _stare? _”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Well,” Remus began, “unless you want to walk me home? It’s getting late and, you know, being the chivalrous gentleman that you are....” he nudged Sirius’ shoulder with a flirtatious wink that was so out of character that Sirius let out a sharp bark of laughter._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Yeah, come on, then, let’s go.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________***_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________The walk to the small house that Remus rented with his friend Lily was surprisingly short; Sirius found himself disappointed as soon as his front door came into view, as though he had been trying to hold off the crashing realisation that they eventually would have to part._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Hey, Remus,” Sirius began, biting his lip. “You know how you’re going to Greece this year, and I’m gonna be travelling with James?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Remus’ eyes practically glowed in the darkness._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Well,” Sirius continued. “Do you think, maybe, when we both get back-”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Yes,” Remus breathed, winding his hands into Sirius’ hair and kissing him with such force that they stumbled back into Remus’ front door, knocking over a plant pot._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________And Sirius’ thought, in the small part of his brain that was still functioning, that his heart had never felt so full._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the end <3


End file.
